End of boil water notices nears as land is acquired for new treatment plant in East Cork

IRISH Water has announced that a site has been acquired for a new state-of-the-art water treatment facility that will serve the East Cork community of Whitegate.

The organisation recently announced a multi-million euro investment that will put an end to the frequent boil water notices that the community has had to endure, due to various complex issues with the water supply in the area.

"We are delighted to be progressing with the long-term plans for Whitegate," water operations lead for Irish Water, Pat Britton said.

"To have this land agreement completed in such a short timeframe is an indication of how much of a priority this project is for Irish Water. 

"Along with our colleagues in Cork County Council, we wish to thank everyone in Whitegate for their patience and co-operation.

"This has been a very frustrating time for the community as we have had to put boil water notices in place to protect the health of the community," he continued. 

Last week Irish Water’s operations and infrastructure delivery teams invited councillors and TDs in East Cork to a briefing on the status of the ongoing operations and maintenance works at the current plant and an overview of future plans for the Whitegate Public Water Supply Scheme.

Speaking about the project, regional infrastructure delivery lead for Irish Water, Ian O'Neill said Irish Water hopes to have a detailed design completed by the end of 2022.

"We are targeting early 2023 for the submission of a planning application to Cork County Council, if required, and all going to plan, we hope to start construction in early 2024 with a completion time expected in late 2025. 

"A project of this scale would traditionally have a turnaround time of seven plus years from concept design through to completion, we aim to have it completed in a much shorter timeframe," he added. 

In the meantime, Mr O'Neill said there is a possibility that Irish Water may have to re-issue more boil water notices if the raw water deteriorates or if there is a bad spell of adverse weather.

The proposed works will include decommissioning of the old water treatment and building a new state-of-the-art water treatment plant, a new coagulation, flocculation and clarification system, a new filtration system and a new disinfection system.